Search Results for: food

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE CHAIRMAN of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round has revealed the key G4 Group within the negotiations (the US, Brazil, European Union and India – loosely representing all WTO factions) were now “seriously engaged” and talking “about substance” regarding a final deal.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has launched a research project – called EuroMedCitrusNet – aimed at reducing the transfer of pathogens from citrus fruits, through processing into final food and drink products, such as juice. Researchers will look at processing chains amongst key Mediterranean suppliers, boosting training and technology, while increasing small and medium-sized citrus fruit business participation in food safety research.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE CHAIRMAN of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round has said the USA will have to reduce its overall food production subsidies to secure agreement in the global commerce talks. In his first formal report since the round was temporarily suspended last July, chairman Crawford Falconer said, quite bluntly: “It is frankly inconceivable that the US will come out of this negotiation with an entitlement to spend more on overall trade distorting domestic support than it had when it came in.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union GBPounds 850,000 Modelling Electroactive Conjugated Materials at the Multiscale (MODECOM) project will develop the science behind polymer-based mass produced organic light emitting devices, making them worth mass producing. These are materials like computer screens, emitting light and designs, but flexible enough for food packaging and other uses.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) expert committee on emerging risks has warned of a lack of knowledge about the environmental and health effects of using nano-sized particles in food and drink products and their packaging. The committee has called for urgent research, especially regarding the potential environmental risk posed by nanotechnologies – being developed for many food and drink uses, such as nano-particle coatings for chocolates and biscuits as well as packaging changing colour when a drink product passes its sell-by date.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament has accepted pressure from European Union (EU) member states and has agreed to phase-out set pre-packaging sizes for milk, butter, coffee, dried pasta and rice over five years and white sugar over six years. The second reading vote is a retreat for MEPs, who had been pushing for the retention of pre-packaging sizes for these and other products, which will now just be retained for wines and spirits.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has raised concerns about methods used by the food industry to measure exposure of consumers to flavourings during market safety trials. In a study of flavourings including aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic ethers (plus anisole derivatives), EFSA criticised Maximised Survey-derived Daily Intakes (MSDIs) methods, looking at average consumption of a flavouring.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
GLOBAL food standards body Codex Alimentarius has drafted global rules setting maximum levels for tin contamination in canned food and drinks beverages. Final consultation is now under way for the guidelines, with concerned governments being asked to make comments to the Rome-based United Nations body by May 30, ahead of them being debated by the organisation’s ruling commission between July 2-7 session.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE AMERICAN Red Cross and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have launched a joint US$7.5 million project to restore seafood and finfish aquaculture and wild harvesting in Indonesia’s Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province, which was devastated by the 2004 tsunami.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has warned better monitoring tests are required before it can confidently back using vaccinations to control key poultry killer Newcastle Disease. The problem is that present vaccines “do not permit a differentiation between the…response to vaccine and (the) field virus”, when checking for any resulting immunity against Newcastle Disease.…